First cup of this last night was a no-no. I admit that I felt a little trepidation before trying a sip, and I proved myself right because in the end it wasn’t a cup I could finish.

I love the secnt of this tea dry. The chocolate is the thing I can smell the most, so I was hoping that I’d get a strong chocolate taste accompanied by a very spicy chai blend. I like spicy things, so I was figuring this would be right up my street. I gave this about four minutes in boiling water, and added a fair splash of milk.

Unfortunately, that’s where things started to go wrong, because all I can taste is cayenne pepper. NOTHING else. There’s no chocolate, no other spices, not even any black tea. Just cayenne pepper. It’s not painful, but it’s the kind of spice that sticks at the back of the throat and makes you cough. Unpleasant. I would have put up with it if there’d been other flavours, but there weren’t. Down the sink it went.

So. Either I need to adjust the way I brew this, or it’s just really not the tea for me. I’m going to try again with a smaller cup, a shorter brew time, more milk, and maybe some sugar. I might even try putting it in a t-sac or something, to try and keep back some of the cayenne pepper. I really want to like this, but I want to taste chocolate and spice as well as the cayenne heat.

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Hi :) I’m Sarah, 26, and I live in Norfolk in the UK. My tea obsession began when a friend introduced me to Teapigs a good few years ago now. Since then, I’ve been insatiable. Steepster introduced me to a world of tea I never knew existed, and my goal is now to TRYALLTHETEAS. Or most of them, anyway.

I still have a deep rooted (and probably life-long) preference for black tea. My all-time favourite is Assam, but Ceylon and Darjeeling also occupy a place in my heart. Flavoured black tea can be a beautiful thing, and I like a good chai latte in the winter.

I also drink a lot of rooibos/honeybush tea, particularly on an evening. Sometimes they’re the best dessert replacements, too. White teas are a staple in summer — their lightness and delicate nature is something I can always appreciate on a hot day.

I’m still warming up to green teas and oolongs. I don’t think they’ll ever be my favourites, with a few rare exceptions, but I don’t hate them anymore. My experience of these teas is still very much a work-in-progress. I’ve also never really tried pu’erh, and that’s something I’m just starting to explore.

I’m still searching for the perfect fruit tea. One without hibiscus. That actually tastes of fruit.

You’ve probably had enough of me now, so I’m going to shut up. Needless to say, though, I really love tea. Long may the journey continue!

My rating system:

91-100: The Holy Grail. Flawless teas I will never forget.

81-90: Outstanding. Pretty much perfection, and happiness in a cup.

71-80: Amazing. A tea to savour, and one I’ll keep coming back to.

61-70: Very good. The majority of things are as they should be. A pleasing cup.

51-60: Good. Not outstanding, but has merit.

41-50: Average. It’s not horrible, but I’ve definitely had better. There’s probably still something about it I’m not keen on.

31-40: Almost enjoyable, but something about it is not for me.

11-30: Pretty bad. It probably makes me screw my face up when I take a sip, but it’s not completely undrinkable.